Stories from Thursday, May 22, 2008

Four members of the Eastwood Elementary School staff were asked to resign recently after district administrators obtained evidence that standardized testing security protocols had been violated. Interim Superintendent Donn Quick confirmed that as of Wednesday, May 21, none of the staff members involved had submitted their resignations...

A Malta Bend man was arrested late Wednesday, May 21, after allegedly firing a gun at a woman, hitting a television set she was watching, according to a report from Saline County Sheriff's Department.

The Marshall Board of Education announced Thursday afternoon, May 22, that it will hold a special session at 7 a.m. Friday, May 23. Less than 24-hours notice was given for the meeting, as required by the state Sunshine Law, because the board needs "to timely accept a resignation," according to the announcement...

Marvin "Rio" Crank, 56, of Sweet Springs, died Tuesday, May 20, 2008, at his home. Friends may call from 6 to 7 p.m. Friday, May 23, 2008, at First Christian Church in Sweet Springs. Memorials may be made to family choice in care of Campbell-Lewis Funeral Home in Marshall...

James E. "Jim" Culver, 65, of Marshall, died Tuesday, May 20, 2008, at Fitzgibbon Hospital in Marshall. Memorial services will be held at 3 p.m. Friday, May 23, 2008, at Campbell-Lewis Chapel in Marshall, with William W. Harlow and Rev. Mike Brown officiating. Visitation will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to American Lung Association. Friends may sign the online register book at www.campbell-lewis.com...

Floreine R. Hancock, 89, of Marshall, died Wednesday, May 21, 2008, at University of Missouri Hospital in Columbia. Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 25, 2008, at Riverview Cemetery in Kiowa, Kan. Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 24, at Sweeney-Reser-Wills Funeral Home in Marshall. Memorials have been established to the Harry S. Truman VA Hospital or American Legion Post 191 in care of the funeral home...

Every spring just before school gets out for summer break, students at Benton Elementary School are treated to a beach party. There isn't much sand, but students make up for the lack by batting beach balls around, throwing frisbees, lounging on beach towels and generally soaking up the sun...

The Marshall Board of Education met Tuesday, May 20, to hear a proposal from Community Teachers Association's salary committee for bringing salaries up over the next few years. "We understand the district is in no shape for a salary increase," said Jim Papreck, representing the CTA salary committee. "We are taking a long view at this."...

Joshua A. Fink, 23, and Tonia L. Fink, 20, both of Marshall, were charged Wednesday, May 21, with possession of a controlled substance, a class C felony. The two were taken into custody Tuesday, May 20,by Saline County Sheriff's deputies. The drugs were found in a routine search of a residence on W. Vest Street, when the deputies attempted to retrieve a handgun owned by a third party...

Three Saline County Sheriff's deputies and one Sweet Springs fireman spent over an hour Wednesday, May 21, trying to locate a woman in rural Saline County whose Garmin GPS took her astray. Sheriff's department received a call at 11:26 a.m. from a woman who said she was on County Road 330 near Bridge Street in Sweet Springs. She was stuck in a ditch and couldn't get out, according to the incident log...

The Saline County Composite Squadron of the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol will host the annual Memorial Day observance service Monday morning, May 26, at 10 a.m., on the southeast corner of the Marshall Square at the Veteran's Memorial. Chaplain Colonel David Van Horn of Marshall will be the speaker. ...

"Remember the days of old, Consider the years of all generations. Ask your father, and he will inform you, Your elders, and they will tell you." --Deuteronomy 32:7 I don't know about most of you, but it seems that the older I get, the harder it is to remember things -- even simple things. ...

ALMA -- If a team is going to make a run deep into the high school baseball playoffs, it takes contributions from more than just the beef in the middle of the line-up. For Santa Fe, it came at the turn Wednesday. A two-out double by junior Max Capps in the nine hole and junior lead-off hitter Ben Catlett's two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning gave the second-ranked Chiefs a come-from-behind 6-5 victory over Archie in the MSHSAA Class 1 Quarterfinal...